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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ed Orgeron Weekly Press Conference
10/15/2007 | Football
Ed Orgeron | Pete Boone
Opening Comments
Obviously we are excited to get our team back today. We reviewed the film against
Looking at the
Looking at
Q: What problems does Marcus Monk present?
A: You can only put so many people in the box and create some one on one coverage with him. He is fast. He is a big playmaker. He is tall. He has made some big plays against us in the past, especially my first year here. So you have to pick and choose the times when you are going to defend more people in the box against the run or are you going to defend Marcus Monk.
Q: How did you feel after seeing the tape of the reversed call?
A: We have to deal with it. I’m the leader here, and I cannot tell you if I’m more sick or less sick. But I have to deal with it, and there is nothing we can do about it. It is very, very unfair. This is not about me. This is about my team. We should have been allowed to play those last seven seconds, and let the best team win. But we have to let go of our feelings and move on to
Q: How are you fighting the decision?
A: We are going to question it. We are going to send in our film. We are going to have conversations with the SEC officials, and we are going to do everything that we know how to do underneath the rules. What else can you do? That is the way it is today. Hopefully better calls. A game should not end on a judgmental call from the box, not after a game like that.
Q: What was inconclusive in your mind?
A: It took a long time to get figured out number one. Number two is we did step out of bounds, whether we were pushed or blocked or whatever the word is. Next thing is we feel that
Q: Will it be more challenging to put this game behind you?
A: No. We won’t let it be. We have to be mentally tough. Playing in the SEC, you have challenges week in and week out, and you have to deal with them. That is one of the things that our team has to learn, and we will learn how to do it.
Q: When did you look back at the tape?
A: As soon as it came up on the video, my film guy had it. As soon as I talked to you, I wanted to look at it.
Q: Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom had commented about how the lower echelon teams do not have have calls go their way. Do you agree?
A: Let me say this to you. I do not think Ole Miss is a lower echelon team. I never thought that, and I never will. I feel that since I have been here, we have had some very unfair calls against our team. What it is all about, I do not know. I do not understand it, and I will never accept it.
Q: Which part of the call did you disagree with?
A: I disagree with both. I think it should have never been overturned number one. Number two there was a slight nudge. There was nowhere for us to go. We were pinned. The receiver could not go anywhere else but out of bounds, and in my opinion, there was a slight nudge. And when he came back, in my opinion, there is not enough evidence to say that they touched the ball first and we didn’t. It should have never been turned over, never. I think we were pushed out of bounds. I think they touched the ball first, and I think we made the play.
Q: Has the SEC told you anything?
A: We talked to the guys, and all the conversations I have had with the SEC officials are private and I will keep them that way.
Q: What did you see Auburn do against Arkansas’ run game?
A: They had (Trey) Blackmon back. They have a lot of speed at linebacker. They played basic defense. They did not blitz them a lot on first and second down. They were always in good position, and they tackled. They brought some eight men in the box. They did not have Marcus Monk out there. I do not think they were very threatened by the passing game. They were in good position all night. And I think one of the good things they did do was they did not allow them to have the big kickoff return, and I think that is a big part of the Arkansas game.
Q: With both teams winless in the SEC, is this game more important?
A: Last week was the same way, and we thought we made the plays to do it. We take one game at a time, whether we are 3-0 or 0-3. It does not matter. It has no bearing to me. We are playing Arkansas. We want to beat Arkansas. That is all that matters.
Q: Talk about the play of Johnny Brown and Brandon Thomas.
A: I thought Johnny Brown played fine. He did a good job, especially in the second half. He was in some good positions. He made some critical plays back there. There wasn’t a tackle or interception where he wasn’t in the right place. He made some adjustments for us as a freshman in a big game, so we are really pleased. Brandon Thomas was in the right place. He missed some tackles. He missed some plays, but he did better than our previous linebackers were doing as far as fitting the run so he did ok for us.
Q: Talk about Peria Jerry’s consistency.
A: It has been excellent. He is manhandling guys up front. The best play he made coming up with the football tackle for a loss was excellent. He is doing some great things. He and Greg Hardy are some big-time defensive linemen. We are really pleased with his play.
Q: Have you faced a running back duo like Arkansas?
A: The pair from Auburn was pretty good in 2003. I think these guys are faster. I do not remember. They always look better when you see them, and I just watched them. They are really fast. They are explosive, and they have a good scheme up front.
Q: Talk about Seth Adams’ performance Saturday, dealing with illness.
A: Seth loves playing football here, He has tremendous character about himself, handles his business all week. I think he is a young man that can handle adversity in the right way, and he is prepared for just about anything. He is very mature, so it did not surprise me that he played. But you could see towards the end of the game when he was sacked. But he gave us everything he possibly could, so we are very pleased with him.
Q: Did you think at the start of the year that the receivers would come this far?
A: We thought that those guys would come along. I could see all the work we were doing in the spring. We changed our wide receiver coach to Coach (Hugh) Freeze, who I think is a tremendous coach. We made a big emphasis on the short passing game. We made a big emphasis in practice on catching the ball. We made a big emphasis in the offseason about what we were going to do to get these guys open against different coverages. We have a quarterback in Seth that can realize what is going on out there, that can make the right decisions. We have pretty good protection for the most part, so I think it is a combination of all the work we have done in the offseason and now it’s coming. Those guys played last year for the first time, but I will say this after everything I have just said, it shocks me a little bit in the progress they have made in such a short time. I think the catches they are making, they are attacking the ball, they are very aggressive acrobatic catchers just competing for the football. The play that Michael Hicks made in the end zone was just unbelievable.
Q: Talk about the impact of the Jerry brothers.
A: Anytime you can get a great defensive lineman and an offensive lineman is a big-time recruiting victory for us. I wish we had about 10 of those Jerry brothers for sure, but I’m sure there are some other brothers out there in Mississippi. Peria is a very passionate, very strong, fast, agile and quick defensive lineman. I do not think I have ever had an offensive lineman as athletic as John Jerry. Those guys mean a lot to our program. It means a lot for them to be at Ole Miss. They both wanted to be at Ole Miss. Both of them wanted to represent their state, so it means a lot to us.
Q: Talk about Dexter McCluster’s return.
A: He is quick and shifty. He can catch the ball up the middle. We can run reverses with him. He is probably the best over-the-middle right now, and he has a great ability to do something with the ball after his catches. We are happy to have him, happy to see that he has to compete to get the ball. Like I said before when Dexter came back, it was throw Dexter the ball’. Now he is a member of a good receiver corps.
Q: Talk bout the progress of the Ole Miss and Arkansas defenses.
A: First of all, we weren’t very good on defense at the first of the year. We gave up way too many yards, way too many points. I think that since the Georgia game, we have made some improvements. We have a lot of improvements left to go. We have some weaknesses and one of those was tackling. I think we have tackled a lot better. We fit in the right gaps a lot better. We changed our defensive backfield rotation up a little bit, and we aren’t getting beat on the deep ball like we were against Missouri. So those are some big-time improvements. Nowhere we need to be by any means. This is by far going to be our biggest challenge against the run. I think this is maybe the best running team in the SEC, maybe the country. I do not know that. As far as Arkansas’ defense, I have not seen them yet. I know they played very good against Auburn.
Q: Talk about the attributes of Greg Hardy.
A: He is a tremendous pass rusher. He is very quick. He has long arms. We were slanting him one time on the goal line. He has a tremendous wingspan. As you may know, he also plays basketball. He reaches out and causes that fumble. I do not think many other guys could have done that. He is a tremendous athlete, very quick. We found a weakness in their offensive line, and we put him right over it and told him to go beat it and that was kind of the extent of that.
Q: How close is the team to getting that big win?
A: We have to continue to make improvement. There was a spot there we were up 24-17. We just need to take the ball down there and score, and I think the way we played defense we could have won the game. We did not. We threw picks. We allowed punt returns. We made mistakes, and we gave them a chance to get back in the game. When you look at our defense in the second half, we played pretty good defense then all of a sudden we’re starting on the 20, on the 30. That is not good football, but we kept on fighting. There was a point in the game that our defense stiffened up down there, forcing a field goal, blocked a field goal fake, so we are starting to play better defense, which will always give you a chance to win. We are not there yet. We had opportunities against Florida against Georgia against Alabama to make a winning drive, to make the winning stop. We have not done that yet. Until we do that, I am not ready to say that we will.
Q: Could this game be a springboard?
A: There is a lot to that. We are still competing. We want to win. We want to win a big football game against Arkansas, against an SEC opponent. We have come so close. We just need to keep battling to be able to win that game. We have these guys at home. We need to take advantage of that, and yes it has a lot to do with it.
Q: What goes through your mind when people talk about the alumni giving millions of dollars and peoples’ jobs on the line with each game?
A: I do not think about any of that. I really don’t. I think about getting my team better, focus on the things that we can get done, keeping the program heading in the right direction, recruiting, getting better. We are so caught up in the film, in the game planning and handling the young men going to class. It is a 24-hour job. We are consumed with that aspect right now in the season. I do not have time to think about that that. Those are distractions. Those are things you think about later on. Right now, we move on to Arkansas.
Q: How do you defend against their return game?
A: We will not defend them the way we did last year. We have to come up with a plan, and we are looking at it. I do not know if they will receive many kicks from us directly. We are going to have to get a great plan to be able to stop those guys.
Q: How important for your career was being at Arkansas?
A: It was fantastic. It really was. I was a graduate assistant there. I coached and played at the 1AA level. I went up there as an assistant strength coach the next year. I coached under Ken Hatfield and Fred Goldsmith. I really, really learned a lot of football from those guys, a great work ethic, how to break down film, how to go there early in the morning. They gave me a lot of responsibility. I had a lot of respect for those guys. At that time, that was my first Division 1A job. I remember Arkansas playing Texas. My eyes were big. It was a great experience for me.
Q: What are Shay Hodge’s best attributes?
A: I do not know if he has the best hands on the team, but he is definitely tied for first for sure. We noticed that in camp. One of the benefits of having a young man in camp, we watched him play on film in high school, and we liked him. But the thing he did in camp was he went after the ball, and that is why we recruited him. And he is a competitor. He has gone through some adversity this year. He has matured, and again I think Coach Freeze has done a tremendous job of teaching those guys how to act and to go get the ball.
Q: After heavy disciplinary actions before the Arkansas game last year, you have had no major ones in the last year. Is that due to the quality of student-athlete you are bringing in?
A: I think so. I think they are understanding the program. Our number one goal is to protect the team. I really feel that after the incident at Arkansas, I think it was seven guys we suspended from the team, our team was better. I think we played better, and it just goes to show you that discipline works. I think our guys understand the program and are not going to put up with any foolishness. We expect them to following certain rules, and if they don’t, they are going to pay the price. So yes, I think it has done some justice.
Pete Boone
I don’t do this, but there were just a couple of things that I thought needed some comments on. One of them had to do with Nick Saban’s comment about the class of Ole Miss fans, and to a certain extent, maybe Nick was kind of like a parent that seems to see the faults in children that live next door but maybe not your own. I think we heard some comments from him back several years ago, when he was here with LSU. But I was talking to Mal Moore this morning about some other things, and Mal said that Alabama fans have done exactly the same thing, talking about throwing bottles and stuff like that. That happens. It’s certainly unacceptable, and we have several arrests that were made during the game. That’s exactly what will happen if it happens again, and we will take care of that. But I’m not really sure it’s some other coach that should be talking about our fans, and I kind of resented that a little bit.
Now with regard to the call at the end of the game, after further review of the Ole Miss SEC replay decision making progress, we have clear and convincing evidence that it is not fool proof. Now, I’m not sure if that’s one word or two. But, it is important, I think, for us to stick up in situations like this. We have been good citizens of the SEC, and let me tell you there is no better place to play ball than in the SEC. And this is not an indictment, at all, against SEC officials. We’ve got to have the best in the country. I think our system is good, but there will be mistakes that are made and I agree with Coach O in this case, a mistake was made. There’s not any recourse that will come about it and we will move on. But at the same time, it is very heart-wrenching and frustrating not for Coach O, and not for me, and really not for our fans, but for those players who didn’t get the opportunity to finish the game. Thank you.
